
Part 1
In a future where humanity has colonized the Moon, a single spacecraft slices through the void, its pilot racing against time and the unforgiving physics of space. When a catastrophic accident at a lunar research facility leaves a child the sole survivor, an unscheduled rescue flight is launched, its crew battling failing radios, harsh acceleration, and the looming threat of re‑entry. The story opens in a bustling newsroom, where editors scramble to turn the desperate plea into a headline, while the pilot, Phil Mooney, fights to keep a fragile life alive en route to Earth.
Every transmission becomes a lifeline, and the tension builds as Mooney tries different spaceports, each reply a small mercy in a hostile vacuum. The narrative captures the cold, procedural side of space travel alongside the raw human urgency of saving a young girl whose parents perished in the blast. Listeners are drawn into a pulse‑pounding chase that blends hard‑science detail with the compassion that drives a lone hero to defy the odds.
Language
en
Duration
~21 minutes (20K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2020-12-05
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1917–1983
Best known for lively, idea-driven science fiction, this prolific American writer explored politics, economics, and possible futures with a sharp, often satirical edge. His stories were especially popular in the 1950s and 1960s, when he became a familiar name in magazines such as Galaxy and If.
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